Without Power
by Val-Creative
Summary: Seimei had never smiled that wonderfully. /RitsukaxSoubi. Standalone. Dedications inside.


**-x-**

They knew powerful. They were the flesh and blood that embodied the principle of it.

_Yet_…

One had died.

The ritual of spell battles sometimes required physical contact of the Sacrifice and Fighter. To keep the bond strong, sometimes it depended upon how powerful a team they were.

Beloved only needed to hold hands.

When they felt the need, against more cunning and dangerous couples, Soubi would extend his hand to the side wordlessly. At times, he wondered if his Master would one day simply refuse a connection and order him to fight on his own. All the while…watching with sickening fascination as his Fighter would be torn and bled. Deep down in the lowest pits of his heart, like a circling snake squeezing his chest cavity, that belief that he someday would. But then, Seimei would take his hand to crush that sensation. And he could finally breathe the words to finish the competition.

They seemed empty to him as he watched Seimei jerk away from him after the battle concluded, frantically rubbing his palm to the denim of his jeans, his expression twisted up into repulsion.

Would Ritsuka ever look at him like that?

Like filth stuck under his nails?

Like vermin?

Soubi was, in a word, _thrilled_ that he could get away with the things he could not have with his Sacrifice alive.

He believed that Loveless becoming his Master… might have been one of the best things that had happened to him. He felt like a kid in a candy store. He just… couldn't help it.

Ritsuka was a beautiful child. Soubi knew as he would grow, his beauty would mature. He could get away with the occasional sneak of rubbing the space between his bony shoulders, a quiet bite on the corner of one of his cat ears, or even _better_ (if he planned the moment exactly right) the molding of gentle lips over a small, delicious mouth. There was nothing quite as satisfying as a fresh kiss; his Master's flushed body straining against his, burrowing a hand underneath his pink scarf to play with the hair pressed against the nape of his hot neck.

When he would manage to thrust away from the touches, Soubi expected Ritsuka to cough out the shared air, his purple eyes to scrunch up in disgust as he would spit out bacteria.

To surprise him, Ritsuka would only wipe his mouth with the back of his right hand and glare angrily, not even meaning it by the tattletale of stimulated red running up his cheeks.

Battled required continuous physical contact, seeing how Soubi was Beloved's Fighter (or so he believed at that point in time), and not Loveless' (not that Loveless' Fighter was alive to influence anything)— if they weren't easily within range of each other, for skin to touch, for eyes to meet—

They were weak.

To everyone who fought, they were disgraces, outcasts, freaks.

They would never be powerful enough.

Soubi didn't mind all that much now. His mind focused on other _important_ matters like… the sweet friction of a boy's fleece blazer against his chest and the strong aftertaste of Ritsuka's supper that traced itself into his appetite… how he _craved_ for more of him…

His fifteen-year-old Sacrifice began noticing his deliberate pause during their mutual kiss at the window, sliding his lips down to ask shakily against his throat, "Why did you stop?"

"I'm sorry."

Ritsuka snorted, sheltering his smile from existence into Soubi's neck as he released the older man from his tight, hurried embrace.

"Sorry for what? Kissing me? I kissed back."

Lavender eyes glinted tenderly behind crooked lenses.

"You're growing up, Ritsuka."

The boy clapped his hands over his cat ears sternly, "You wish. These are staying, Soubi—don't think for a second—"

"I didn't mean that, darling." Soubi couldn't resist a low and amused laugh before cradling his blushing face. "You are becoming more perceptive to other people around you."

Silence.

"Well… yeah," Ritsuka deadpanned.

The blond man smirked. "Do you not wish for me to take your ears?"

Ritsuka blushed harder, curling his tail in the air anxiously.

"Umm… well, _not now_— I mean, I don't know—_how to_—"

Soubi stopped him before the subject could become intensely painful for either of them. "I'll teach you those things in two to three years. How's that for a compromise?"

His Master's grin rivaled the loveliness of a sunrise.

Seimei had never smiled that wonderfully.

He liked to believe power was just a word. Not flesh and blood. And not essential.

**-x-**

**END**

**-x-**_  
_

* * *

_I am officially a fangirl of this show and RitsukaxSoubi. My copy of the Loveless episodes are coming in the mail! -dances- I'm new to the series and I tried really hard to keep the characters in-character. And this was rather pointless... but hey, you start somewhere. If I'm off about a fact, or something seemed amiss, please feel free to tell me in a review and I'll gladly fix it. This is dedicated to **Cassandra** because she almost bought me the whole anime before I told her I had it already being shipped out to me (that, and I love her). To **Kelly**, because she didn't give me pink eye... and because she's one of my wifesbands. __Loveless shippers, I hope I contributed something fun to the fandom. See you at the next story! By the way, reviews keep the creative juices flowing. Keep that in mind ;)_


End file.
